1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shoe outsole where at least a portion of the outsole has fibers embedded therein, and to methods of manufacturing same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fabric outsoles are known in slippers, for example, which are typically constructed with a fabric backed foam outsole or a midsole board inserted between the shoe upper and lower fabric sections. Fabric outsoles are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,430,844 in which a fabric layer fabric is molded in a common mold in situ with a backing layer constituting a rubber or plastic material. Although these uses suggest that desirable results may be achieved with the prior art methods, the methods are of limited use and often require specially designed molds and a time consuming manufacturing process.